OCTOBER UNITS CONTINUE LIBRARY STUDY

The DC Zoning Commission will meet at
7:30 Thursday September 8, 2005, at 441-4th St NW Suite
210, on Case 04-33 (Tend Amendments to Require the
Provision of Affordable Housing - Inclusionary Zoning).
The meeting is open to the public. The Commission will
be meeting with the Office of Planning and the Campaign
for Inclusionary Zoning In order to inquire further into
their proposals. Telephone: 202 7274311.  Frances Gemmill

Honored: Madeleine Furth for fifty years
of League membership; Soy Pierce, founder
of new Capitol Hill Unit.

Treasurer Joan Domike and Budget
Committee Chair June Bashkin wined that the budgets for
fife past several years have resulted In continuing
depletion of financial reserves
in spite of increases in donations. Their reports
were accepted as presented.

Vice President Kathryn Rays motion that
the League undertake a two-year study of public
libraries with the latent of establishing the League's
position on the role of the pubic library in the 21
century want adopted. She encouraged members to use
their library cards, meet the local librarian
and staff; and join a Friends group.

The following 2005-2007 slatewas approved as presented
by Anna Marsh, Nominations Committee chair:

After dinner, Vice President Joan Wilson
Introduced Vincent N. Schiraldi, DC.Director of the Dept
of Youth Rehabilitation Services and a member of the-mayor's
cabinet
who spoke on "Reforming DC's Juvenile Justice
System."  Ken Nespser (Editor's Note: Copies of his
talk will be
available at the September 22nd
fall luncheon.]

TALKING THE WALK:

The Fairfax County Board has adopted a resolution
sponsored by Chairman Gerry Connolly calling for the
study of new zoning rules called "form-based
codes" as a tool to promote walkable communities in
the county.

TRANSPORTATION PLANNING OUTREACH:

Public forums will be held this fall by a
citizens working group evaluating connections between
land use and transportation. The group is the offspring
of the Citizens Advisory Committees of the Metropolitan
Washington Council of Governments. Chaired by Emmet
Tyding, the group is called the Regional Mobility and
Accessibility Study. it has presented a variety of
alternative visions of development in the region,
stressing the importance of looking beyond the past
emphasis on investment west of 16th Street.

The first evening forum on September 20
will be in Oxon Hill at the Potomac View Best Western.
This forum will present photographic material on
alternative land use possibilities and analyze qualitative
travel impacts and transit improvements In southern
Prince George's County. Additional forums are slated for
Fairfax City, Sliver Spring, and Washington. For details
call TPB 202 962-3295.

The income disparity between DC and the
region continues, according to background statistics provided during the Comprehensive Plan
briefings. With 13% of the households in the
Washington area, DC has 37% of households with an
income of less than $10,000, about three times more than
its 'share'. Twenty per cent of DC resident incomes are
below the poverty threshold.

Housing
costs are equally worrisome, with 30% of renters paying
more than 30% of their income for rent, although this is not as
serious as the national average of 37%. However, 23% of homeowners
with mortgages pay over 30% of their income for housing, and of these
"cost-burdened" households 30% are seniors.

Homeownership tags in the District. At 41 % it is well below
the 60% national average, but it is middling by
comparison with other large cities where it ranges from
30% to 49%. Homeownership varies by ward, from 62% in
Ward 4 to 21% in Ward 8.

Average household income for DC if $78,172, but the median range by
ward is from $71,875 in
Ward 3 to $25,017 in Ward 8. Seniors over 65 make
up 12% of the DC population, but only 9% of the region.

Children are a diminishing group - from
143,00 In 1980 to 114,000 In 2000. Each ward has
approximately 70,000 residents, but the proportion of
residents under 18 varies from 15% In Ward 3 to 39% in
Ward 8.

Households declined in number after 1980
by only 4,800 while the population fell by 66,000, leaving
smaller DC households, at an average of
2.16 persons, down from a 1970 average of 2.72. The
density range in
wards was from a low of 1.65
in Ward 2 to 2.73 in Ward 8. Further information:
http://www.inclusivecity.org.  Grace Malakoff

Comprehensive
Plan Task Force Meetings

They are open to the public, inviting written comments
and ideas at each meeting. The topic for September is education.
In October the topic will be economic development;
subsequent meetings will review the draft plan and
implementation.

No August doldrums here. Our health
committee is scouring resources for the best program
ever on kids - see next column.

Meanwhile our library committee has
already started pre-testing the questionnaires for the
branch library survey teams.

We have been enjoying the Capitol Women
lecture series, along with the CSPAN/TV crew. The
August 17 lecture by Dr. Kate Masur highlighted a
Supreme Court victory in a case brought by a black woman
who was a restroom attendant in the Capitol. The case
decision actually stated that the "separate but
equal" defense for denying her claim was not
constitutional, In the 1860's. It was a vignette of fine historical
research.  G.M.

On November 10th Mrs. Epstein-Collins,
Washington activist for women and a longtime fan of
the League, will open her private collection of works
bid the renowned Norwegian artist Edvard Munch. Hers is
one, if not the, largest collection of Munch graphics in
the United States.

She will open her home in both morning
and afternoon sessions. She will personally
describe the reasons for her passion for his work, then
lead a tour of the collection.

Because only a limited
number of art
lovers
can participate at each session, advance reservations
are required. A reservation form will be Included in
the October DC VOTER.  Joan Wilson

We have been selected by the LWVUS to
develop a program
on DC Healthy Kids: Exploring What Works.

We are developing a panel presentation to
showcase a variety of efforts. Your input is needed:
make suggestions of programs you know about. In
addition, if you can make a video of an event, or do
photos, clip newspaper
articles, we need you.

Citizen gatherings during October 22-29
"Deliberation Week" will be complemented by a national
PBS broadcast produced by McNeil/Lehrer Productions.
The effort is reviewed on the PBS web site "By The
People: A National Conversation About America In the
World" at http://pbs.org/newshour/btp

Healthcare Committee Co-chairs Goody
Braun and Rene Walls are coordinating the event. Call
the League office 347-3020 to find out how you can
help.